Download Oil prices and the New Zealand economy Felix Delbruck, Economics Department

ARTICLES
Oil prices and the New Zealand economy
Felix Delbruck, Economics Department
This article looks at New Zealand’s oil consumption at a disaggregated level and discusses the consequences of movements
in international oil prices for inflation, taking into account New Zealand’s industry structure as well as the tax treatment
of different fuel types. Relative to the size of its economy, New Zealand uses a comparatively large amount of oil as
transport fuel. The evidence suggests that the indirect (cost-push) effects of higher oil prices on consumer prices could
be quite large, substantially driven by higher transport services costs. How large they turn out to be, and whether they
matter for medium-term inflation and monetary policy, will depend on factors such as the state of the economic cycle,
the degree of competition in particular industries, and the extent to which inflation expectations are anchored.
1
Introduction
been considerable, and local petrol prices have also risen
Since 1999, US dollar oil prices have more than tripled,
sharply from just over $1 per litre in 2003 to as high as $1.50
rising from under US$20 a barrel to over US$60 a barrel.
per litre in 2005 (see figure 2 below).
Since 2003 alone they have more than doubled, driven up
by growing world demand, by tight production capacity,
particularly in refining, and, more recently, by the disruptions
caused by Hurricane Katrina in the southern US. In inflation-
Figure 2
New Zealand retail price of 91 unleaded petrol
NZ cents
per litre
NZ cents
per litre
160
160
adjusted terms, US dollar oil prices are at levels last seen
150
150
after the second oil shock in the early 1980s (see figure 1
140
140
below). In New Zealand dollar terms, the current level of
130
130
world oil prices is not quite as high relative to history. When
120
120
110
110
100
100
90
90
adjusted for inflation, New Zealand dollar oil prices have
only very recently exceeded their previous highs in 2000,
when they were pushed up by a cyclically low exchange
rate, and remain well below levels seen in the first half of
the 1980s. Nevertheless, the rate of increase since 2004 has
80
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Source: Ministry of Economic Development
These recent price increases make it timely to examine the
Figure 1
importance of oil to the New Zealand economy and the way
Real oil prices in 2005 US and New Zealand
in which changes in world oil prices affect us. In this article,
dollars
we look at New Zealand’s oil consumption across different
(West Texas Intermediate price)
NZ$/barrel
US$/barrel
180
USD real oil price (RHS)
140
OECD economies. We then examine how changes in the
100
behaviour of international oil prices can influence prices here
80
120
sectors and compare it with consumption patterns in other
120
NZD real oil price
160
in New Zealand, taking into accounts factors such as the use
of fuel in different industries and the tax treatment of petrol
100
60
80
60
and other types of fuel.
40
We find that, relative to the size of its economy, New Zealand
40
20
20
0
1973
80
2000
0
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
Source: Bloomberg, Datastream, RBNZ estimates
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
consumes a comparatively large amount of oil as transport
fuel. A relatively large part of New Zealand’s transport fuel
use consists of diesel and jet fuel, rather than the petrol
5
predominantly used to fuel private cars. Consistently with
the costs of providing public transport and other goods and
this, we calculate that the indirect effect of a change in oil
services – may be more important than in other countries.2
prices on consumer prices (through higher costs of transport
services and other goods and services, as opposed to the
cost of petrol itself) could be quite large. However, how
large these indirect effects turn out to be will depend very
much on how persistent the higher fuel prices are expected
to be, the state of the economic cycle, and the degree of
competition in individual industries. The effect on mediumterm inflation will also depend on how higher international
fuel prices affect domestic and external demand, and on
how anchored expectations of medium-term inflation are by
the monetary policy framework.
Figures 3 and 4 show how New Zealand ranked in terms of
the intensity of its oil consumption in 2002, relative to GDP
and per capita. The results are clearly somewhat sensitive to
how the size of the economy is measured. Relative to GDP,
New Zealand oil use is relatively high, closer to oil use in
North America than to that in Europe or Japan. Per head of
population, on the other hand, there is a clear gap between
North America and other OECD countries, with New Zealand
falling somewhere between Japan and Europe. Evidently, the
fact that Japan and Europe use so much less oil relative to
their GDP is partly due to the higher per capita GDP in those
countries, rather than to a lower per capita use of oil.3
2.
NZ’s oil dependency in
Figure 3
international comparison
Oil use relative to GDP, 2002
To begin, we look at how sensitive the New Zealand economy
Canada
is to high oil prices compared with other OECD countries -
US
how much oil (in the form of petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and
New Zealand
other refined petroleum products) we consume, for what
Australia
purpose, and what this suggests for the ease with which
OECD Europe
consumption can adjust. The comparison suggests that
UK
while one cannot unambiguously say that New Zealand’s
Japan
1
total use of oil is unusually large relative to the size of the
economy – it depends on how one measures the size of the
economy – we do seem to use a relatively large amount of
oil for transport fuel. When we break down the source of
our oil use for transport purposes, a relatively large part is
attributable to diesel and aviation fuel, which are mainly used
by businesses. Diesel has also been the main contributor
to increases in our oil use over the last decade and a half.
While it is not immediately clear what is behind our relatively
heavy use of fuel other than petrol, it does suggest that the
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
Tonnes of oil equivalent per $1000 (1995 US dollars)
Source: International Energy Agency
If we dig a little deeper into the sources of our oil use,
however, it turns out that the reason why New Zealand
appears to use so much less oil per capita than the North
American countries is that, like Australia, it uses relatively
little for purposes other than transport (for example, for
heating, power generation, or in manufacturing of plastics).
In terms of per capita use of transport fuel, by contrast, New
indirect effects of higher fuel prices – through an increase in
1
2
6
Most of this section makes use of internationally
comparable data from the International Energy Agency
for 2002. For comparability of energy sources, physical
use is given in tons of oil equivalent. One ton of oil
equivalent corresponds to 41.868 gigajoules.
While not directly relevant to the question of how exposed
New Zealand is to oil-related cost shocks, another
potentially important dimension of our dependence
on international oil markets – one which matters for
third-round effects through the current account – is the
amount of crude oil and refined petroleum that we import
3
and export. New Zealand’s net imports of both crude
oil and refined petroleum (relative to total supply) are
comparatively high, but not as high as in Japan or some
European countries.
The GDP data are expressed in US dollars at market
exchange rates. If they are adjusted for differences
in purchasing power across countries, New Zealand’s
relative oil intensity falls relative to that of Japan and
Europe – expenditure on oil there is high, but other
domestic production inputs can also command a higher
value than in New Zealand.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
Figure 4
Figure 6
Oil use per capita, 2002
Oil use per capita for non-transport purposes by
households and industries, 2002
US
Canada
Canada
Australia
Japan
Japan
US
New Zealand
Australia
UK
OECD Europe
OECD Europe
UK
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Industries
Households
New Zealand
Tonnes of oil equivalent per capita
0.0
Source: International Energy Agency
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
Tonnes of oil equivalent per capita
Zealand is clearly part of a group of higher-use countries,
with the US leading the way (figure 5).4
Source: International Energy Agency
It is not possible to break down the use of transport fuel
In part, New Zealand’s low use of oil for purposes other than
shown in figure 5 by sector. However, breaking it down
transport is likely to reflect our relatively small manufacturing
by fuel type (as in figure 7) is suggestive: use of petrol per
sector. To that extent it may be a misleading indicator of
capita, while clearly higher than in Japan or Europe, is lower
our oil dependency: we rely on imports from countries like
than in North America or Australia, whereas use of diesel
Japan which use more oil in industry, and are therefore
and aviation fuel is comparatively high (more strikingly so
indirectly dependent on the oil that we are not using in our
when measured relative to GDP). Because little diesel is used
own manufacturing processes. However, figure 6 shows that
to fuel private cars in New Zealand, this suggests that our
non-transport use of oil by households (presumably mainly
relatively heavy use of transport fuel is partly due to relatively
for heating) is also unusually low in New Zealand.
high use of fuel by businesses (or public transport providers)
rather than by private households.
It is also instructive to look at how New Zealand’s oil use has
Figure 5
Oil use per capita for transport and other
purposes, 2002
changed over time. From 1986, when the price of oil fell
sharply, oil use per capita in most OECD countries increased.
Figure 7
US
Oil use per capita for transport purposes, by fuel
Canada
type, 2002
Australia
New Zealand
US
UK
Transport
Other uses
Japan
Canada
Australia
OECD Europe
New Zealand
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Tonnes of oil equivalent per capita
Source: International Energy Agency
4
Unlike for total oil intensity, here the story is substantially
the same if oil use is measured relative to different
GDP measures. Our effective transport use is probably
somewhat higher still, since the IEA’s ‘transport’ category
does not include fuel used for fishing boats and tractors.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
UK
Petrol
Diesel
Aviation fuel
Japan
OECD Europe
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
Tonnes of oil equivalent per capita
2.5
Source: International Energy Agency
7
In New Zealand, however, oil use has risen more steeply,
indicate that our use of oil is dependent on factors such
increasing by roughly 50 per cent since the late 1980s
as the combination of a small population and geographical
(Figure 8). Figure 9 shows that although petrol use per capita
length, or New Zealand’s isolation as an island from larger
increased in the late 1980s (reflecting a reduction in car
population centres. This may make it more costly to adjust in
import barriers and an end to subsidies of alternative motor
the face of higher prices than if, say, we had simply chosen
fuels such as CNG), the bulk of the increase is attributable to
to drive big cars.5 On the other hand, it may reflect the fact
diesel fuel, and has continued through the 1990s. Data on
that diesel-powered vehicles are taxed via road user charges
New Zealand’s energy use suggest that by far the main use
which make the tax bill dependent on factors such as vehicle
of diesel is for transport, so this probably reflects an increase
weight and distance travelled, rather than the amount of
in the number of tractors and trucks.
fuel used. In any case, however, this feature of the data
suggests that any indirect effects of higher fuel prices on
Figure 8
inflation and economic activity (through higher production
Oil use per capita, 1980–2003
costs, rather than through the direct effect of higher petrol
Tonnes per capita
Tonnes per capita
4.0
4.0
3.5
3.5
3.0
2.0
Zealand.
3.0
New Zealand
US
Japan
OECD Europe
Australia
2.5
prices on consumption costs) may be relatively large in New
2.5
3
inflation
2.0
1.5
1.5
1.0
1.0
International oil prices and
From the point of view of the Reserve Bank, changes in
oil prices are of particular interest in terms of how they
1980
1983
1986
1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
Source: US Department of Energy
affect medium-term inflation pressures. The transmission
mechanism linking an increase in international oil prices
Figure 9
to CPI inflation is complex and the strength and timing
New Zealand’s oil use per capita, by fuel type,
of the different channels depends on the circumstances.
1980–2003
Nevertheless it can be conceptually useful to categorise the
Tonnes per capita
Tonnes per capita
0.6
0.60
0.5
0.50
0.4
0.40
linkages into first-round, second-round and third-round
effects, as shown in figure 10 opposite:
•
0.3
Petrol
are passed through to domestic petrol prices almost
immediately. Petrol prices are a component of the CPI
0.30
Aviation fuel
0.2
Diesel
First-round effects. Changes in international oil prices
and so an increase in petrol prices will have a direct and
0.20
immediate effect on inflation. In addition, oil products
0.10
0.1
such as petrol, diesel and aviation fuel are an input in
the production process of many firms, either directly or
0.00
0.0
1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004
through their use of transport services such as air freight.
Source: Ministry of Economic Development, US Department of
Energy
Hence an increase in fuel prices will put immediate
pressure on the costs faced by those firms. An increase
It is not immediately clear why the use of fuels other than
petrol is relatively high in New Zealand, and what this means
for the ease with which the economy could adjust to higher
fuel by public transport providers and other businesses may
The MED’s Energy Data File and Statistics New
Zealand’s Energy Flow accounts together suggest that
much of our high use of aviation fuel is due to refuelling
on international flights.
8
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
oil prices. New Zealand’s relatively heavy use of transport
5
•
in international fuel prices may also raise the prices of
reduce investment and employment as a result of lower
imported goods, by raising international production
profitability. New Zealand is also a net importer of oil, so
and freight costs. Even if oil price permanently move
unless non-oil imports fall, an increase in oil prices will
to a higher or lower level, these first-round effects on
mean a decline in the current account balance, implying
inflation should be temporary.
a higher net foreign debt and lower consumption later.
Finally, higher oil prices may also reduce economic
Second-round effects. Second-round effects occur if
activity in many of our trading partners that are also net
there are compensatory increases in prices and wages
importers of oil (such as Europe, the US and most of
as firms and households each attempt to pass on
Asia), reducing demand for our exports.
increases in fuel and transport costs, and the first-round
•
effects ‘spill over’ into public perceptions of medium-
In what follows, we review how international crude oil prices
term inflation. It is through these second-round effects
affect domestic fuel prices. We then look in more detail at
that higher oil prices can lead to higher medium-term
what the consequences of a given change in domestic fuel
inflation.
prices might be for inflation. We give special attention to
quantifying the (direct and indirect) first-round effects.
Third-round effects. Higher oil prices may also have
Ultimately, what matters for monetary policy is how these
adverse effects on economic activity, which would tend
increases in costs feed through to medium-term inflation
to reduce medium-term inflation pressure. For example,
pressures. However, this depends on numerous factors and
higher oil prices could cause weaker economic activity
is considerably harder to quantify.
if households reduce their non-oil consumption in
response to their higher expenditure on petrol, or if firms
Figure 10
The transmission mechanism between oil prices and consumer prices
Price of non-oil
imports
International
fuel prices
International
economic activity
Domestic
fuel prices
Prices of other
domestic goods
and services
First round effect
CPI
Second round effect
Expectations of medium-term inflation
Third round effect
Economic activity
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
9
The price of crude oil and the price
price. The relationship between the crude oil price and the
of fuel at the pump
Singapore petrol or diesel price will change as a result of
As figure 11 shows for petrol and diesel,6 New Zealand
prices of refined oil products are fairly closely correlated with
the corresponding Singapore spot prices (in New Zealand
cents per litre): New Zealand’s imports of petrol and other
oil products are largely sourced from Singapore (a major
refinery centre) and Australia, which in turn imports from
Singapore.
changes in relative refining yields or demands for the different
products (for instance, a shift in demand towards ‘cleaner’
fuels will raise their prices relative to the crude oil price). The
relationship may also be non-linear: for large shocks to the
crude oil price, differences in the elasticities of demand for
the various refined products may become more significant.7
Finally, the relationship will vary in the short term as yields,
relative demands, and refinery costs fluctuate.
Figure 11
Nevertheless, on the basis of relationships in recent years we
The Singapore and domestic (pre-tax) price of
believe that, as a rough rule of thumb, we can assume an
petrol and diesel
approximately multiplicative relationship between the crude
NZ cents
per litre
NZ cents
per litre
100
New Zealand (pre-tax) petrol price
New Zealand (pre-tax) diesel price
Singapore petrol price
Singapore diesel price
90
80
100
90
80
oil price and the prices of Singapore refined products, at
least over the longer term. First, any refining costs that may
not vary with the crude oil price (and hence disturb such
70
70
a proportional relationship) appear to be small.8 Secondly,
60
60
figure 12 below shows the ratio between the Singapore
50
50
40
40
Figure 12
30
30
Ratio of the Singapore petrol, diesel and jet fuel
20
2000
20
price (in NZ cents per litre) to the Dubai crude oil
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Source: Ministry of Economic Development
How then do Singapore refined product prices respond to
a given increase in international crude oil prices? Under a
price (in NZ dollars per barrel)
Ratio
1.1
Ratio
1.1
Diesel
Jet fuel
Petrol
1.0
1.0
given refining process, a barrel of crude oil of a given grade
yields a certain quantity of a variety of refined products,
some higher in energy content and economic value than
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
others. Given the yield of each refined product, once
adjustments for quality variations and the like are made and
refining and shipping costs are subtracted, the prices of the
refined products will imply a breakeven or ‘netback’ value to
the refinery of this particular grade of crude oil. Refining will
not be a profitable business if the price of a barrel of crude
0.6
2000
7
that that there should be a long-run relationship between
However, this need not imply a stable relationship between
the price of any one refined product and the crude oil
6
10
Comparable data is not readily available for jet fuel.
2002
2003
2004
2005
Source: Ministry of Economic Development, Datastream
oil exceeds its netback value. Hence the economics suggest
the price of crude oil and the various refined prices.
0.6
2001
8
For example, in many situations one would expect the
demand for transport fuels to be less elastic than the
demand for heating oil. As a result, a substantial increase
in the crude oil price would lead to a relatively greater
increase in the price of petrol or diesel.
Indicative estimates by the Australian Department of
Industry, Tourism and Resources in 1999 of the costs
faced by a representative Singapore Refinery suggest that
at the time, operating and freight costs constituted less
than 10 per cent of the total refinery price; to the extent
that these costs have not risen since with the crude oil
price, they would be a substantially smaller component
of the total refined price now.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
petrol, diesel and jet fuel price (in NZ cents per litre) and the
The table below summarises the different components of
Dubai crude oil price (in NZ dollars per barrel) since 2000.
the retail petrol and diesel price (with GST included in each
Although the ratio has been quite volatile over much of that
component). Based on the average relationship between
time – highlighting the fact that the relationship between
the Singapore petrol and diesel price and the crude oil price
the crude oil price and each refined price is subject to
over the last six years, we might roughly expect to see an
numerous influences – it has not shown obvious trends, It
8 cents per litre increase in the Singapore price for every
does appear to have increased slightly in the last year or
NZ$10/bbl increase in the Dubai crude oil price (perhaps 9
two. A shift up in the refining margin would be consistent
cents per litre if the refining margin has increased). And if we
with growing demand for refined oil products (especially
assume that petrol and diesel importer margins and excise
from China) having absorbed excess refining capacity in
taxes do not change in response to a change in international
Asia as a result of growing demand for refined petroleum.
fuel prices, we can expect this increase in the Singapore
One might expect it to persist for some time, at least until
price to translate into a 9 or 10 cents per litre increase in the
new refining capacity comes on line. The average ratio since
domestic retail petrol and diesel price (including GST). This
2000 suggests that, on average, an increase in the Dubai
would represent a 0.6 per cent increase for a NZ$1.40 per
crude oil price of NZ$10 per barrel can be associated with
litre petrol price, and a 1 per cent increase for a NZ$0.95 per
a fairly uniform increase in Singapore petrol, diesel and jet
litre diesel price.
kerosene of about 8 cents per litre; the average ratio since
2004 suggests an increase in the refined prices of 8.5 to 9
Table 1
cents per litre.
Components of domestic petrol and diesel prices
The relationship between the domestic retail petrol price
(NZ c/L, each component includes GST)
that enters the CPI and the Singapore petrol price is more
straightforward. As we have seen from figure 11, the (pretax) domestic diesel and petrol price have tended to move
Petrol
Singapore
refined price
freight, insurance and distribution costs as well as retailers’
Import,
transport and
trade costs
and margins
(average 1999
- 2005)
profit margins – over the last six years it has remained fairly
Excise taxes
fairly closely together with the corresponding Singapore
price in recent years. Although the spread between the
domestic and Singapore refined prices fluctuates – reflecting
Diesel
0.9 to 1 times the Dubai crude oil
price (in NZ$/bbl)
18
23.6
53.7
0.3
stable at about 15 cents per litre for petrol and 20 cents per
litre for diesel. This is despite an increase in the Singapore
price of 50 per cent or more.9
The remainder of the domestic fuel price is made up of
Domestic fuel prices and inflation
excise taxes and GST. Excise taxes are negligible for diesel
As noted at the beginning of this section, the first-round
and aviation fuel, but, at 48 cents per litre, they currently
effect of higher fuel prices on consumer prices can be
constitute roughly two fifths of the ex-GST domestic petrol
separated into a ‘direct’ and an ‘indirect’ effect. The direct
price. (See Box 1 for a comparison of New Zealand’s fuel
effect reflects the fact that households find themselves
taxes with those in other OECD countries; the comparison
having to spend more on petrol; the indirect effect reflects
suggests that our petrol taxes are relatively low.)
an increase in the cost of public transport and of other goods
and services which use petroleum products as a production
input.
9
Petrol margins fell sharply between 1997 and 2000 and
are at low levels compared to the 1990s (see the MED’s
July 2005 Energy Data File, Chart I.9b).
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
The direct effect is easy to quantify if we assume no
substitution towards or away from oil in response to a
11
change in prices (this is a reasonable approximation in
Box 1
the short run at least). Suppose that international oil price
New Zealand’s fuel taxes in
developments led to a 10 cents per litre increase in the local
international comparison
price of petrol. In the current CPI regimen (last re-weighted
The table below compares New Zealand fuel tax rates
in the June quarter of 2002), petrol has a weight of 3.12 per
to those in other countries. These numbers include
cent. This implies that in 2002, when the petrol price was
any GST component, which would move in proportion
about 100 c/L, a 10 c/L increase in the petrol price would
to changes in the ex-GST fuel price. Nevertheless, the
have led to an increase in the average household’s living cost
GST component will be comparatively small, and the
of about 0.3 per cent. Because the total CPI has increased
table suggests that while taxes in New Zealand make
by about 8 per cent since then, however, the impact today
petrol and diesel prices less sensitive to movements in
would be closer to 0.28 per cent.
international oil prices in New Zealand than in the US
As we shall discuss, the size of the indirect effect is harder
or Canada, New Zealand prices are considerably more
to estimate. However, to get a sense of how large it might
exposed than in Japan or some European countries. We
be, we use data from the Energy Flow Accounts and the
are also unusual in imposing a much higher charge on
Input-Output tables produced by Statistics New Zealand for
petrol use than on diesel use. Diesel-fueled vehicles in
the 1995/1996 year (the latest for which the Input-Output
New Zealand face road user charges that are not directly
tables are available). These contain information about the
linked to the amount of fuel used. Given that diesel is
share of refined oil products in the production costs of
used almost exclusively for commercial purposes, this
different industries in 1996, as well as the weight of each
suggests that commercial users in New Zealand may
industry’s output both in other industries’ production costs
on average be fairly exposed to oil price movements, in
and in total household consumption expenditure (see Box 2
international comparison.
for a summary of the industries that, according to the data,
Proportion of total petrol and diesel price
paid as tax
Petrol
65%
62%
62%
60%
51%
44%
42%
29%
14%
a result of higher fuel and domestic transport services prices).
The expenditure data strip out taxes on products (including
(as at September 2005)
UK
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Japan
NZ
Canada
US
are likely to face the biggest increases in production costs as
fuel excise taxes),10 and so automatically account for the fact
Diesel
57%
45%
48%
42%
35%
34%
11%
24%
17%
Source: International Energy Agency, Ministry of Economic
Development
that users of diesel or aviation fuel are, other things being
equal, more sensitive to a given dollar increase in the price
of those fuels than users of petrol. They therefore allow the
calculation of indirect flow-on effects on consumer prices
corresponding to a given increase in the petrol price, under
the following assumptions:
•
The pre-tax prices of diesel and aviation fuel increase in
proportion to the pre-tax petrol price;
•
firms fully pass any increase in costs on to each other
and to households;
•
10
12
there are no changes in wages or other factor prices.
The input-output data for expenditure on a given
industry’s output do not include taxes in the first place.
The Energy Flow Account figures include the excise tax
on petrol, but we have adjusted the expenditure numbers
on petrol accordingly.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
Of course, just as the 2002 weight of petrol in the CPI would
costs and to the fact that oil is a production input overseas
overstate the direct inflation effect of a 10 cents per litre
as well, for example in the manufacture of plastics).12
increase in the petrol price today (given the drift in the CPI
since then) these industry expenditure weights are likely
to overstate the corresponding indirect effects. However,
it turns out that the relative size of the direct and indirect
effects that we calculate for 1996 should remain valid today,
provided we make the additional assumptions that
•
•
However, the assumption that industries fully pass on their
higher costs is crucial to these numbers, and is undoubtedly
an overstatement. The degree to which higher fuel and
transport costs are passed on will depend on the state of
the economic cycle and the amount of competitive pressure
in a particular industry. It will also depend on how long
there have been no material changes in real consumption
the higher costs are expected to persist. In many cases – for
patterns since 1996;
example, for export-oriented industries taking world prices
relative producer prices have moved in the same
proportion as the corresponding consumer prices.
as given – the higher fuel costs may simply lower profitability
and reduce competitiveness relative to exporters located
closer to overseas customers and suppliers.
Under these assumptions, the data suggest the indirect
effect of an oil price shock on consumer prices might be
quite large - about as large as the direct effect. In other
words, for a 10 cents per litre increase in the petrol price,
the calculated indirect effect would add another 0.2 to 0.3
per cent on to the direct effect of 0.27 per cent. Roughly
one third of this can be attributed to the effect of higher
domestic transport prices on the CPI, reflecting the fact
that households indirectly consume petroleum as taxi, bus
or airplane passengers. Most of the remainder is due to
firms passing on either higher fuel or transport costs onto
consumers (for instants, transport costs would raise the
retail price of food). In fact, the first-round effect might be
even larger. We have seen from figure 9 that the physical use
of diesel (mostly used by firms) has increased significantly
relative to petrol since 1996.11 Also, the calculations do not
account for the effect of international fuel prices on the price
of non-oil imports (due to higher international transport
To the extent that both output and factor prices rise
to compensate for the higher fuel costs, an increase in
oil prices will lead to a more widespread and persistent
increase in prices. At the extreme, there could be a series
of compensatory wage and price adjustments that end
up affecting expectations of medium-term inflation. The
likelihood and size of such ‘second-round’ effects on
medium-term inflation is very difficult to quantify, but it will
again depend on how persistent the increase in fuel costs is
expected to be and on the degree of competition in labour
and product markets. It will also be influenced by how
anchored inflation expectations are. On the whole, we can
be fairly confident that second-round effects have become
less likely than in the 1970s: labour and product markets
have become more competitive, inflation expectations are
likely to be more tied down by the current monetary policy
framework, and higher oil prices have also been offset in
recent years by lower prices of other imported goods as a
result of low production costs in countries such as China.
11
12
Also, because of tax differentials, the prices of diesel
and jet fuel – mainly used by firms – have been more
sensitive to increases in international fuel prices than
petrol prices. However, because the input-output tables
give expenditure on fuel excluding taxes, they strip out
this effect.
There is also the possibility of a direct link between oil
prices and other energy costs such as natural gas (and
hence electricity) or coal, which is not captured in the
input-output framework, but the case for this looks less
compelling. International coal prices are largely divorced
from international oil prices, and natural gas markets are
fairly segmented as a result of transportation costs. (This
would change as the world LNG market develops, and as
New Zealand develops the infrastructure to import LNG.
However, the degree of linkage between international oil
and LNG prices is not fully clear.)
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
On the other hand, if consumers or firms do not adjust wages
and prices, then higher oil prices will mean less spending on
other consumer goods by households and lower value added
(profits and wage payments) by businesses. For example,
if households reduced their spending on other goods and
services by a dollar for every dollar increase in expenditure
on petrol, then for a 10 cents per litre increase in the price
of petrol we would expect to a roughly 0.3 per cent fall in
non-oil consumption (given the weight of petrol in the CPI).
Alternatively, if domestic non-oil spending does not fall,
13
Box 2
in prices in the domestic transport industry, to a 0.5 per
Which industries’ costs are sensitive to higher
cent increase in prices in agriculture, hunting and fishing,
oil prices?
and to a 0.2 per cent increase in prices in wholesale and
The table below shows those industries for which
retail trade. Transport services have a larger share in many
petroleum products and domestic transport services (such
industries’ production costs than petroleum products do
as air freight and trucking services) made up a relatively
directly. Industries for which domestic transport services
large proportion of their total output in 1996. The table
costs (before taxes and margins) made up more than 2 per
suggests that petroleum products are a fairly large cost
cent of their output price in 1996 include forestry, meat
component of domestic transport services and agriculture.
processing, construction-related manufacture, extractive
In 1996, a uniform 10 per cent increase in the pre-tax
industries, and most manufacturing industries.
price of refined oil products would, if fully passed on by
those industries, have directly led to a 1 per cent increase
Expenditure on refined petroleum and domestic transport services (excluding taxes) as a share of
various industries’ gross output in 1996
Refined oil products
10.4%
Domestic Transport and
Storage
Domestic transport services
Forestry and Logging
10.5%
Agriculture, Fishing and
hunting
4.6%
Slaughtering and Meat
Processing
6.6%
Central Government and
Defence
2.2%
Concrete, Clay, Glass
and Related Minerals
Manufacture
4.9%
Wholesale and Retail
Trade
2.0%
Extraction, Mining,
Quarrying and
Exploration - including
gas distribution and
supply
4.2%
Extraction, Mining,
Quarrying and
Exploration - including
gas distribution and
supply
2.0%
Basic Metal Industries
4.1%
Forestry and Logging
1.3%
Beverages, Tobacco,
Confectionery and
Sugar, and Other Food
4.0%
Basic Metal Industries
1.2%
Wholesale and Retail
Trade
3.9%
Construction
1.1%
Petroleum Product
Refining, Distribution
and Supply
3.8%
Chemicals, Related
Products and Plastics
1.1%
Wood Processing and
Wood Products
3.8%
Beverages, Tobacco,
Confectionery and Sugar,
and Other Food
1.1%
Paper and Paper
Products, Printing and
Publishing
3.3%
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Reserve Bank calculations
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Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
higher oil prices imply an increase in New Zealand’s import
countries, our use of transport fuel is weighted towards
bill and net foreign debt, which will need to be paid for by
diesel and jet fuel, which play only a minor role in fuelling
lower consumption and investment later on. Expenditure on
private transport. This – as well as the fact that diesel and jet
imports of oil and refined oil products makes up roughly 2
fuel are much more lightly taxed than petrol in New Zealand
per cent of nominal GDP, so if expenditure on crude oil and
– suggests that the indirect effects of higher oil prices on
imported petroleum products increased by 10 per cent and
inflation and the economy, through an increase in the cost
there was no reduction in other imports, the trade balance
of providing transport services and other goods and services,
would decline by about 0.2 per cent of GDP (although
may be relatively large. We then reviewed how higher oil
exports of petroleum products would provide a small offset).
prices are likely to feed through to CPI inflation in the short
The impact of higher oil prices on New Zealand growth also
term and the medium term.
depends on how they affect trading partner growth. IMF
estimates suggest that as a rule of thumb, a persistent 20
per cent increase in the price of oil reduces growth in our
major trading partners by 0.4 per cent after one year. Such
‘third-round’ effects of higher fuel prices on demand could
dampen domestic inflation pressure in the medium term.
Examining the cost-push effects of higher fuel prices on
inflation more closely using an input-output framework, we
found that the indirect effects on the CPI could potentially
be quite sizeable – mostly as a result of higher costs of
transport services. However, the result crucially assumes that
firms are fully able to pass on any higher costs, which is
undoubtedly an overstatement. While higher fuel prices will
lead to higher inflation in the short term, they may reduce
4
Summary and conclusion
inflation pressure in the medium term by dampening non-oil
In view of recent sharp increases in oil prices, this article
consumption. On the other hand, they may also lead to higher
has taken a closer look at how oil prices matter for the
medium-term inflation expectations, which would otherwise
New Zealand economy. We compared New Zealand’s oil
boost inflation. The balance of these various effects is likely
consumption with that of other countries and found that
to depend on the degree of competitive pressures across
New Zealand is a relatively heavy user of transport fuel,
different industries, other inflation developments, and on
but a light user of oil products for residential heating and
the state of the economic cycle.
other non-transport purposes. More than in other OECD
Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4
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